All workplaces are political to some extent mainly because employees bring their personal emotions, needs, ambitions, and insecurities into their professional lives. If we are to narrow down where a person would behave most politically, it would be their workplace. A workplace is a steaming pot filled with people trying to climb the hierarchical ladder of the organisation. If qualifications, proficiency and experiences are not enough, people resort to workplace politics.
The consequences of workplace politics are never positive specially, if focused on in the early stage of one's career. It only leads to things such as a visible decrease in efficiency, job dissatisfaction and derailing from the corporate objective. So here are some necessary steps to avoid office politics at the early stage as well as some insights from young professionals in different workplaces.
The first step to avoid office politics is to try and identify the source of politics and not indulge in it. Young professionals should attempt to connect with everyone at workplace and not make their relationships exclusive. Another step is to avoid back biting. One strategy might work here as Nuzhat, currently working at a local pharmaceutical company, explains, "Whenever a coworker came up with an interesting topic, I sounded off and boring, so they naturally refrained from starting the bad conversation with me". It may be very tempting to know the gossip or use gossips to connect with others but in the long term this has many consequences. This will not only reduce organisational efficiency, but also harms one's own career, focus, brand image and gradually changes the entire mindset.
Sometimes entry level employees feel that engaging in politics is a mandatory step to achieve a promotion. Regardless of the level of political contamination in an organisation, actual proficiency and skill is always valued. Therefore, there is no need to think of politics as something indispensable to grow. In fact, growth without politics is much more sustainable. 'Best thing to do is to try to improve yourself as an individual everyday so that the job performance and quality of work takes you to a level beyond the grasp of office politics. It is essential that an individual tries to see bigger picture and avoids the habit of taking shortcuts so that sustainable career progression and success can be achieved,' says Ohi Ahmed, a management trainee at Brac Bank Limited.
However, just abstaining from politics may not be enough. Politics is something that impacts third parties and often impacts them negatively. So, it is essential to make sure to steer clear of such externalities. Rahat, senior executive of enterprise business wing at a multinational telecommunication company says, 'Well, I'd say that it's best to be honest regarding everything you do. If you make a mistake, you should admit it straight away. You'll be better off if people hear it from you rather than someone else who might spice up the details. Also, always keep your boss updated about your work. Be transparent, and make sure you've done nothing immoral or illegal in the first place. A clean record is really hard to smear when everyone knows about it.'
Even though politics can be avoided to a great extent using the previous steps, completely ridding the office of it may take a little more work. And this must be done with the help of other compatible people, who do not appreciate this type of behaviour. Here is what Professor Shaila Sultana, head of English Language, Institute of Modern Languages (IML), University of Dhaka has to say regarding this, 'No matter where you work, you will find organisational politics or get affected by climbers, hurdlers or takers at some point. Keep a healthy distance from them. Identify the co-workers who are sincere, committed, and passionate, believe in professional growth, and show appreciation to co-workers, clients, and the company. Create a supportive circle of trust with them. Work collectively for the betterment of yourself, others, and the company. Bring about changes by setting examples. Only then you may challenge or break the vicious circle of organisational politics." Additional strategies can be developing people skills and maintaining network so that one is an active member of the company not only through work but also through their network.
Becoming a subject matter expert, working hard and being transparent results in faster career growth in the early stage than adhering to workplace politics.
The writer is a second-year student of BBA programme at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. He can be reached at
